The business of Internet, wireless, and telecom law.

294 MHz and 8402 TV Channels May Be Sold, or Just Some Spectrum and a Few Channels. Stay tuned…

Posted by Barlow Keener

TV stations have long been the backbone of the American community.  Marshall McLuhan said in 1964, in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man : “The medium is the message.”   By 1964, TV had solidly taken over the dominate role of the king of media from radio.  McLuhan was writing about TV.  Today, 50 years [...]

FCC TV Incentive Auction: How will the spectrum be purchased?

Posted by Barlow Keener

The FCC TV Incentive Auction is looming ahead.  It is the first spectrum auction in more than four years.  The last auction raised $19 billion and sold off the A, B, and C Upper 700MHz blocks.    Today, the C block spectrum is being used for LTE – a success story for the FCC and for [...]

Dec 19th TV Incentive Auction Webinar: What Broadcasters Need to Know

Posted by Barlow Keener

FCC TV Incentive Auctions will turn-over broadcast TV to mobile carriers. TV Incentive Auctions are coming. Dec 19th 9am-12pm TMCnet Webinar FCC Comments are due in Jan 25 2013. TV stations and investors are scrambling. Congressional hearings are happening.  TMCnet and Carl Ford’s Crossfire Dec. 19th video webinar covers Part I: The Broadcasters’ Reverse Auction.  [...]

PCAST Spectrum Sharing: A Mobile Game Changer?

Posted by Barlow Keener

We are about to have a Presidential Executive Order that will change our world — at least our wireless, spectrum world. Ten years ago most of us would have said that mobile can not “change the world.”  Today we know mobile is changing the world and that a major future change to the mobile ecosystem [...]

FCC TV Spectrum Reallocation: Win-Win Plan?

Posted by Barlow Keener

Starting in 1996, the FCC began the work of moving TV broadcasters from analog to digital TV.   At the time it was anticipated that TV stations would use their spectrum to deliver additional, unspecified non-broadcast- type services.  In 1998, the FCC prescribed a rule (47 CFR 73.624(g )), following the 1996 Telecom Act, allowing TV [...]

Network Neutrality for a) Broadband or b) Internet?

Posted by Barlow Keener

The December 23, 2010 Network Neutrality order, "Preserving the Open Internet," is the FCC’s attempt to regulate the problems created by the lack of broadband provider competition to the home. Commissioner Copps framed the problem in his statement: Allowing … monopoly or duopoly broadband Internet access service providers ­to exercise unfettered control over Americans’ access [...]

Network Neutrality v. Regulatory Responsibility

Posted by Barlow Keener

The Comcast net neutrality order was rejected and returned to the FCC by the D.C. Court of Appeals in April 2010.  The order, as we all know, focuses on the FCC’s attempted regulation of a cable company’s Internet network management practice.  Comcast and cable providers were pleased with the outcome as these providers know just [...]

Spectrum’s Future: Use it or Lose It?

Posted by Barlow Keener

Technorati Tags: Spectrum,FCC,NTIA,Senator Kerry In 2003, President Bush issued an Executive Order entitled “Spectrum Policy for the 21st Century” ordering the Department of Commerce’s NTIA to identify spectrum and propose policies for the spectrum’s more efficient use. The Federal Government Spectrum Task Force was created led by NTIA and consisting of all the departments except [...]

FCC Reform: McDowell Proposes Scheduled Open Meetings

Posted by Barlow Keener

Yesterday FCC Commissioner McDowell released a letter addressed to Acting Chairman Copps.  One great suggestion (see the list) in his letter was the proposal that the Commission schedule in advance Open Meeting dates.  Commissioner McDowell explained: We need to improve our external communications regarding FCC processes and actions. As an immediate first step, I suggest [...]

Sprint Scores with the First U.S. Femtocell Deployment in Denver and Indianapolis

Posted by Barlow Keener

On September 17, 2007, only 10 days after the Pulvermedia’s FMC conference in Chicago where Sprint discussed its future femtocell plans, Sprint formerly announced that it would immediately start offering its AIRAVE femtocell solution in Denver and Indianapolis.  Sprint included a cool marketing video about AIRAVE and femtocells on the Sprint web site. While two trials [...]